


Tumblr Ficlets

by deliciousshame



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-15 03:32:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deliciousshame/pseuds/deliciousshame
Summary: Short fics previously posted on Tumblr, mostly centered around holidays or some type of prompting.





	1. AoKuro 69min, ring

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that most of these were written pretty quickly. I'll add warnings to the relevant chapter when needed.

Daiki thinks the ring is sort of boring. For starter, it should have more bling on it, not just a few etchings.

But hey, it’s not for him, it’s for Tetsu, who made an art out of not standing out.

Also Satsuki vetoed all of his suggestions and took pictures of what she considered the worse ones. Sometimes Kise sends them back to him with “positive criticism from someone in the fashion industry”. What that really meant was that Kise was making fun of him, but whatever, he’s the one who was going to marry Tetsu, not Kise, so screw that guy.

Because Tetsu is going to say yes. He’s going to. No doubt about it. None. At all. Who would say no to him anyway. Anyone would be lucky to have him. He only has to ask.

Daiki keeps shifting, which is not at all a sign of his nervousness. He only has a lot of energy to spare.

They’re at home. He’s not at a fancy restaurant or anything. Tetsu wouldn’t appreciate the attention, no matter how much Satsuki thinks it would be more 〜romantic〜.

It’s totally the anniversary of the first time they played a real match together at Teikou, though. Daiki figures it’s not as obvious as their first meeting or when they started dating, so he won’t get comments about being sappy. It’s appropriate, too. Even if he sort of screwed up later (so he’s stupid sometimes, sue him), back then he’d fought for Tetsu’s second chance, risking his own future on it without a second thought. He’d doing that again, in a way. Or he will. Any minute now. He’ll find the words.

“Are you going to give that to me or are you just going to play with the box in your pocket all night long?”

The fuck. He doesn’t know. He can’t know, Daiki has been so careful! Someone must have talked. Kise, that asshole. He’s not gonna know what hits him.

Tetsu sighs. “Aomine-kun, among your porn isn’t a good hiding place. I almost threw it out by accident while cleaning.”

Daiki just. He can’t. This is the person he wants to marry. Really. “Don’t look at my porn! Forget about that, why didn’t you say something!!”

Tetsu shrugs. “It could have been for someone else. Maybe you bought it for Mai-chan and that’s why you kept it by her side.”

Holy shit. This is a disaster. “Of course it was for you, why the hell would I ask Mai-chan to marry me, I love you!”

Tetsu isn’t impressed by his outburst. “Ask me, then.”

Oh. Um. “Okay. Sure.”

Might as well commit. They’re at home anyway.

He gets down on one knee and is so, so happy with himself that he resisted Satsuki’s urging for a speech. Like he could say anything more than what he will. Forcing the few little words despite his suddenly dry mouth, he plunges. “Tetsu, will you marry me?”

“Only if I get to plan the wedding.”

Daiki wants to bang his head against a wall. He knew just “Yes.” was in the realm of unrealistic expectations. “Sure, knock yourself out.” He can deal with boring muted colors and Kagami as Tetsu’s best man. He could deal with way, way worse for Tetsu.

“Then I accept.” Tetsu seals it with a kiss, gentle.

They’re getting married! Finally! Yes!

Tetsu flicks him out of what would have turned into an elaborate daydream if given half a chance. “Don’t even think I didn’t notice the date. Don’t worry, I’ll take your secret romantic side to the grave. Until then, I guess you’ll be there to make sure I keep my promise.”

That looks good to him.


	2. Halloween 2015

Tetusya lies in bed, listening to the clock tick. Waiting.

Waiting.

His fingers tangle in the sheets, but he keeps his breathing steady, his body relaxed. He can’t be found out.

The window rattles lightly. It’s being slid open from the outside. It should be easy. Tetsuya leaves it oh so slightly open.

It’s a struggle to stay calm under the intruder’s stare, unseen but felt like a solid presence.

He stills remember the first time he noticed, thrown out of sleep by sudden pain that disappeared almost as soon as he felt it, replaced by a pleasant sense of dull pleasure and sluggishness that wouldn’t allow him to fight off whatever was biting him. He fell asleep again before whatever it was left, and would have brushed it off as a too real dream if not for the mostly healed marks still marring his neck next morning, almost unnoticeable otherwise.

After he started looking for it, he noticed it happening again and again, always in the dead of night, an indistinct figure sliding into his room by the window, so silent, so quick it can’t possibly be human. It stalks toward the bed, managing not to make the floor creak, pushes the sheets of the bed slightly down with a touch so delicate Tetsuya can barely feel them move against his skin. Tetsuya keeps his eyes closed, somehow convinced that whatever it is, he won’t appreciate knowing it’s been found out, and struggles through the seconds of pain to enjoy the pleasure, almost always falling asleep before the figure has left. 

He didn’t know what to do to stop it, didn’t know who to turn to for help. Who would even believe him? Blocking the window didn’t help, and neither did sleep in another room nor the charms he’d gotten at the local temple.

So, as strange as it seems, he got used to it. He’s a little more tired the day after and it’s annoying at practice, but it never seems to happen before game days, luckily. That’s why he stays calm when it comes by once more. It’s pretty regular anyway, so he knows when to expect it.

Except that there is… something different today. He can tell it’s standing by the bed, lingering like it never does, walking soundlessly, getting closer and stepping back, and, finally, like it never did, stroking his hair, caressing his cheek, and it feels… familiar almost, not a stranger but somehow he knows, and how did the possibility that the intruder was an acquaintance never even crossed his mind.

Caution be damned, he opens his eyes and meets Aomine-kun’s, and for a second his expression his expression is full of… Aomine-kun never looked at him like that before. It changes as realisation hits him, and Tetsuya knows he has a second to stop him from leaving. His hand spurts from under the sheet to wrap around his wrist, keeping him there before he escapes through the window one more. “Don’t go.”

Aomine-kun freezes, still looking at him but looking so confused. Tetsuya can’t be scared of Aomine-kun, no matter what, and especially not right now. “You’re… hungry, are you not?” He sits up and tilts his head, hoping the movement is inviting to a… vampire, he guesses? He’s never actually put a name on it. “I don’t mind.”

From the way his gaze focuses, it worked. Aomine-kun gets closer, as if in a trance, climbs to sit on the side of the bed like he never has, and moves too fast for his eyes to follow when he goes for the bite, his arms wrapping themselves around Tetsuya to hold him against him as all strength leaves him.

It’s a completely different experience from before, knowing it’s Aomine-kun so close to him, holding him, taking from him what was freely given for once. It’s heady, and Aomine-kun’s name escapes from his lips without his conscious command, turning into a barely audible litany.

He falls limp, sleepy, into Aomine-kun’s embrace, his head nestled in his neck, his conscience fleeting.


	3. Halloween 2016, first fic

He wakes up like it’s just another morning, rubbing his eyes lightly to chase the last remnants of sleep away. It takes him a few moments for last night to come back to mind.

So it was Aomine-kun that had been sneaking into his bedroom while he’d been sleeping.

Oh dear. Aomine-kun has been sneaking into his bedroom while he’d been sleeping. _Aomine-kun has been sneaking into his bedroom while he’d been sleeping._ It’s good that he’s gone. He isn’t here to witness how flustered this leaves him. What would he have done if his parents had caught them? How could he have explained the appearance of his old friend in his bed?

Well, maybe that wouldn’t have happened. Aomine-kun must be unnaturally fast. Maybe he could have escaped in a flash, or turn into a bat and fly off the window just like in stories. Tetsuya should ask him about it.

But before that, he should ask him why he chose him as a… victim? prey? favorite snack? Why didn’t he just ask Tetsuya for his help? He isn’t so callous as to let Aomine-kun starve when it would barely inconvenience him, even more so now that they’re friends again.

That’s another mystery to add to the list. Why now? Why not when they were both in Teikou? Was he a vampire then? Was Tetsuya an unaware victim?

Time won’t stop for his questions, so he prepares to go to school, leaves, meets Kagami-kun in class, goes to practice. It’s all so astonishingly normal he almost forgets what happened. Almost being the key word here. 

He calls Aomine-kun on his way home and arranges to meet him at Maji Burger, sans Kagami-kun. That’s one person that doesn’t need to be involved.

Does Aomine-kun even need to eat regular food?

Anyway. He gets there, sits at his usual table and waits for Aomine-kun to show up.

When he does, it’s with as many hamburgers as the tray can bear without breaking, like usual. He doesn’t look uncomfortable or worried, just sits and tells him to ask his questions.

He’ll regret that.

Quite a few minutes later, he’s much better informed about vampires and their habits than he ever wanted to. It’s interesting, but it doesn’t answer the most important interrogations he had.

“Why me? Why now?”

“Well, Satsuki was getting tired of being my food bank. She said eating always the same thing is bad for the body.”

“Aomine-kun.” Tetsuya didn’t come here to kid around.

Aomine-kun sighs. “You smell good, okay? You smell fucking delicious. You always did. I’m sorry about it, I knew I shouldn’t do it without your consent, but I just figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a sip. No harm, no foul, right?”

His repeated visits aren’t exactly what Tetsuya would call taking a sip, but that doesn’t matter. “Why not before, then? I wouldn’t have said no.”

“How was I supposed to know that? Most people would find the idea creepy as hell.”

Tetsuya shrugs. “It’s you. I wouldn’t have minded. I don’t mind now.”

Aomine-kun looks at him like he just said something strange. “You don’t mind being monster food? You’re something else.”

He’s being told that by someone from the Generation of Miracles. His life. “Please, you’re not a monster.” Outside of basket, he means, and even then. “You’re just Aomine-kun. Do you think I would be afraid? Of you?” Just to make sure the point is understood, he makes sure to give him his most unimpressed glare.

Aomine-kun smiles and ruffles his hair. “Yeah, I know, I’m an idiot who thought you had something like survival instinct. I forgot who I was talking to. Sue me.”

“Hey!” Tetsuya doesn’t deserve to be treated with this little respect, but Aomine-kun isn’t listening to his attempts at defending his honor at all.

Oh well. Good enough.


	4. Halloween 2016, second fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a nice fic. At all. Spoilery warnings at the end of the fic.
> 
> It has KagaKuro, but AoKuro is the point of the fic.

“Kagami-kun, you’re from America, right? Did you celebrate Halloween? It’s quite popular over there, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah it is. I used to go trick or tricking when I was younger, but later I just went to parties with friends. Why?”

“Do you have plans?” No one’s watching, so Tetsuya lightly takes his hand and watches Kagami-kun blush. He’s so shy for a returnee. Sometimes, like this time, Tetsuya uses it to his advantage. “Could I spend the night with you? It would be nice to celebrate it outside of home.”

Tetsuya can tell Kagami-kun’s mind is going places, but nowhere unexpected. “Sure, if you want to. We could watch horror movies, that’s a classic.”

Perfect.

________________________

They said it was a terrible accident. They said there was nothing to be done, that he died seconds after he was hit by the truck, that the paramedics could have done nothing more.

Well, that’s what the adults tell each other anyway during the funeral, when they think they’re not being heard.

Tetsuya really doesn’t think that Aomine-kun of all people would have missed a speeding truck charging on him, and neither do the others. They, more than all the adults, know how terribly Aomine-kun was doing, knew how he switched between complete apathy and total despair. No one knows, but they don’t think it was an accident.

But that’s what the police thinks it is, and so the case is closed. Tetsuya thought he’d go burn incense on Aomine-kun’s grave and carry that weight for the rest of his live.

Turns out Aomine-kun had other ideas.

________________________

Tetsuya has been raised well, and so he brings food and candy appropriate for the evening, but not too much, since Kagami-kun is a great cook and he might as well enjoy it.

They settle down to watch a first movie. Tetsuya sits very close, lies on Kagami-kun’s side and hides his amusement while his partner wonders what to with his hands. It doesn’t get better as the movie goes on. Tetsuya keeps track of the obvious mistakes, like visible zippers and characters that change clothing when they shouldn’t. Kagami-kun, that scaredy cat, struggles to play the stoic manly boyfriend. Tetsuya pats him comfortingly and turns his head away when he glares at him.

By the time the second movie starts, Tetsuya is snuggling close against Kagami-kun, who has an arm wrapped around him, his hand resting under his shirt against the waistband of his pants. It’s very nice and easy, and Tetsuya is feeling a bit sleepy and a bit aroused, so it doesn’t worry him when the lights flicker briefly. It happens.

Before he can understand what just happened, he’s flipped on his back, Kagami-kun lying on all fours over him, predatory. It’s very sudden, and Tetsuya is going to tell him off, but Kagami-kun is faster, lowering himself and biting, hard, much too hard, drawing blood, before he whispers in his ear. “I can finally visit, _I can finally touch you_ , and you’re cheating on me? Tetsu, you’re a bitch.”

Tetsuya has no one to blame but himself. This was always a possibility. 

________________________

The team never was the same after. It’s not like Teikou needed Aomine-kun to dominate, the others were more than enough to defeat the other schools, but his absence was always felt. Tetsuya himself never quite got over him not being there anymore. He stopped training by himself in the third gymnasium altogether. The ambiance was just too oppressive. Sometimes, he swore he could feel him still, watching him trying and failing to get the ball into the basket. So he just went right home, but even there he could still feel him.

It took a while before he realized what was happening. The lights flickered, but their house was old. They all thought the wiring was faulty. Then came the loud noises in the middle of the night, the objects turning up nowhere near their original emplacements, the cold spots. Tetsuya blamed his grief, but when he woke up after hearing something break to find most of his belongings floating, he knew he couldn’t close his eyes anymore.

The thing is, he could try and get help, consult a priest or an exorcist or get charms at the local temple, but he couldn’t. Every time he thought about it, he was overcome with guilt. He can’t _banish_ Aomine-kun. He can’t do it. He knew the banging and the broken things were but a very pale echo of Aomine-kun’s once overwhelming presence, but it was still better than nothing. Sometimes, it even felt comforting, like he was watching over him.

But most of the time, it was just scary.

________________________

He never questioned whether it was Aomine-kun or not. From the moment he understood what happened, this much was clear. He hadn’t needed a proof.

He got one anyway.

________________________

Tetsuya and his family had never really celebrated Halloween. Seirin hadn’t done anything particular to celebrate the holiday either, and anyway it had been a school day. He’d gone to bed as usual.

When he woke up all at once, he only felt surprise for a few seconds. He had grown used to it.

What he hadn’t grown used to was Aomine-kun’s ghost hanging by his bed, his hand reaching for him but never finding him, his lips moving but no sound escaping, tears rolling down his cheeks that Tetsuya would never be able to wipe off.

It lasted a few minutes, more than long enough for Tetsuya to be certain of what he saw. More than long enough for Aomine-kun to grow irritated, then violent in his impuissance, objects crashing around him apparently out of his control, before he faded out like he was never there, leaving Tetsuya destroyed on his bed with matching tears rolling down his own cheeks.

Later, he’d learn that Halloween comes from old, old beliefs, and that people thought this was the day where the veil between the realms of the living and the dead was the thinnest. They said the spirits of the dead would come back home on this one day to visit the living.

After that, he tries. Aomine-kun is suffering. He can’t want to remain like this. He does more research, get charms and draw pentacles and even find a Shinto priest to do a purification ritual. Nothing works. Aomine-kun still lingers in his house.

Time passes. Halloween draws near. Tetsuya can’t face this, him, again. Maybe if he spends the night somewhere else he’ll be fine.

________________________

Last year, Aomine-kun only stayed a few minutes. Tetsuya doesn’t know if he can handle a few minutes of Aomine-kun’s rage distorting Kagami-kun’s face, his hands grabbing his wrists so tightly that they’ll bruise for days. He has to do something, anything, to stop this. “Aomine-kun, you’re dead. This isn’t your place anymore. You need to let go.”

Seeing Aomine-kun’s expression of mad disbelief on Kagami-kun’s face is still incredibly disturbing. “I come back from the dead to see you and the first thing you say is fuck off? What did I do to you to deserve that? Tell me!” Aomine-kun grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him with too much force, knocking Tetsuya’s head against the sofa’s armrest.

He’s crying. He knows he’s crying. He doesn’t know what else to do, how to soothe Aomine-kun’s obvious pain, or how to free Kagami-kun from this situation he should have never been involved with.

Maybe Aomine-kun read that last thought. “Is it him? Are you so worried about him that you can’t wait to get rid of me? Fuck that guy. You’re mine.”

Aomine-kun starts tearing off his clothes, and Tetsuya tries to struggle but he can’t make himself fight him off properly. He’s as powerless here as he always felt he was since the moment he first learned of Aomine-kun’s death.

Then Aomine-kun falls, crushing him under his weight, and when their eyes meet again there’s no traces left of Aomine-kun’s madness, only Kagami-kun’s growing confusion. The confusion becomes terror as he sees Tetsuya’s half-naked body, bruised and bleeding and crying. Tetsuya distantly knows he needs to calm him down, to tell him nothing about this is his fault, but all he can do for now is hold onto him with all his might and let out all the tears that won’t help at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: aborted non-con, suicide, major character death


	5. Valentine's Day 2016

“Oh good you’re here. Let’s get the fuck away.”

Aomine-kun makes for an imposing presence, standing tall at the gate of their school, his stature and uniform catching the eyes of quite a few. A girl, apparently having failed at delivering her gift to the object of her affection, seems to seriously wonder if he’d do as an alternative.

As soon as he found Tetsuya, not a small feat for most, he entered the yard and grabbed Tetsuya’s arm. This isn’t anything he expected when he woke up this morning. “I’m sorry, but what is happening?”

Aomine-kun doesn’t seem to care. “We have to go. If I could find you that means she could show up at any second and trust me, you don’t want that.” He shivers all over, as if remembering something unpleasant.

It’s not his policy to just let himself be dragged around like baggage. “’Maybe I’d be more cooperative if I had any idea of what was happening.”

After scanning the area around them, hiding Tetsuya himself behind him the whole time, he finally admits: “Satsuki wants to give you chocolate.”

Well, he’ll have to accept it or she’ll cry, but that’s fine, Aomine-kun should know she’s not competition. “And? I’ll take it.”

Aomine-kun looks at him like he’s crazy. “She made it herself, especially for you. You’ll die.”

Oh. Right. “Let’s escape.” It’ll be kinder than passing out in front of her, at least.

“TETSUUU-KUUNNN!”

There she is, coming toward them with a spring in her step and an ominous box tied with a red bow in her hands.

“Fuck no time left. I’m taking care of this. You’ll thank me later.” He’s being picked up, like so much luggage, and “Aomine-kun, let me go-“

“DAI-CHAN, WAIT! I DON’T BE JEALOUS. I MADE YOU SOME TOO! DON’T GOOOO. ”

Aomine-kun just picks up speed. Tetsuya could struggle, this is undignified, but it would be useless. He’s not sulking, it’s just that it’s so unfair that all his hard work still leaves him small and thin while Aomine-kun skips practice and yet has ridiculously strong arms and muscled, firm legs…

When they finally stop at the station, both of them flushed and slightly short of breath, Satsuki isn’t even a speck on the horizon. Tetsuya straightens himself out and tries to compose himself. “Is this destination deliberate, or just an accident?”

Hard to tell if he’s embarrassed, but he’s not meeting his eyes as he replies. “My folks are out today. You should come.” 

There are a lot of people around, this is the station after all, but most of them are too preoccupied with their significant other to care if Tetsuya slips his hand in Aomine-kun’s. “’I’d be happy to.”

His hand tightens around his, all the answers he needs.

  
**_Bonuses_ **   


There’s a box of chocolate wrapped in a pretty box lying on the desk of Aomine-kun’s bedroom. “Aomine-kun, is that chocolate for me?”

The evasive eyes have come back. “Well, yeah, who else would it be for?”

Oh. “I’m a guy, so I didn’t get you anything. Maybe I’ll bring you something at Touou on White Day.” It would only be fair.

“Don’t. I’m not the girl.”

“But Aomine-kun went out of his way to pick me up at school for Valentine’s Day.”

“Look, I’ll never hear the end of it from the guys on the team.”

That… might be amusing. “Of course.” Maybe something pink.

____________________

“So, when are your parents coming back?”

Aomine-kun is… batting his eyelashes at him. “Why, Tetsu, could you have designs on my virtue? How filthy.”

Tetsuya sighs. “Don’t worry, not anymore.”

____________________

His left hand tangled in Aomine-kun’s hair, his lips sliding on his stretched out, pretty long neck, he feels more than he hears Aomine-kun’s moans at each thrust. “Fuck, Tetsu.” It’s exhilarating.

What first registers as not Aomine-kun’s voice and thus completely irrelevant manages to reach his brain anyway after a few seconds. “Daiki, we’re home!”

“…Shit.”

____________________

When, the next day, the captain is absent, Tetsuya silently thanks Aomine-kun for having spared him his sad fate.


	6. Typetrigger, March 2017

**_Smothered_ **

Aomine-kun is a snuggler. He twists himself around Tetsuya no matter how far he sleeps or how many pillows he sets between them. Before morning, Tetsuya will have at least an arm and a leg over him, if he’s not lying right over him.

Muscle is heavy, and Aomine-kun is a professional athlete. He has a lot of it. Tetsuya’s smaller frame has problems handling all that weight, never mind the heat. He’s sleeping badly most nights.

He tried to tell Aomine-kun about it, but all his pleas were fruitless. Aomine-kun says he can’t help what he does in his sleep, and wouldn’t even entertain for a second the idea of them sleeping on separate beds, or maybe two futon.

Tetsuya let it go, like he usually does. Being with Aomine-kun involves its own lot of challenges. He’s a professional, so they have to live where he works. That means Tetsuya’s job security is pretty much inexistent. Add to that Aomine-kun’s insistence on staying in the closet, meaning Tetsuya has to say he’s single and deal with pictures of beautiful ladies wrapped around his lover in the pages of major publications.

It isn’t easy. They say relationships never are. Maybe Tetsuya himself is the problem, since he finds it so hard to make the sacrifices needed for them to flourish. He tries, though, he really does.

It’s just that sometimes, he lies in his bed at night, sweating and struggling to breathe under all of this weight, and he wonders if it’s worth it.

**_Finally spoke up_ **

“Maybe this isn’t working.”

Aomine-kun turns his head from the show he’s watching and that Tetsuya is suffering through. “Yeah, he deserves better than her. She’s crazy.”

Tetsuya sighs. “I’m not talking about the show, I’m talking about us.”

Aomine-kun curses under his breath. “Seriously? Can’t it wait?”

Tetsuya is just so tired of putting everything on hold for Aomine-kun. “All I’ve been doing is accommodating you, the least you can do is listen to me for once.”

Aomine-kun turns off the tv and fully turns toward him. “What are you even talking about?” He reaches for Tetsuya to pull him against him. All Tetsuya can see is another attempt at keeping him still. “We’re doing fine, aren’t we?” His hands are creeping under his clothes. Tetsuya can see that attempt at deflection from kilometers away.

He slides out of his grip and gets off the couch. “Aomine-kun, when was the last time we went on a date?”

He gets an annoyed snort. “You know I have to keep a low profile.”

“How about the last time I picked what we watch? The last time I initiated anything? The last time you listened to me for more than a minute? I’m in this relationship too.”

“Where is that even coming from? You never said anything!”

“The fact that you saw nothing of this is part of the problem. I did try not to bother you, not to disturb, not to complain, but I’m not sure I can do that anymore. “

“So, what do you want, you wanna break up? Over something this insignificant?”

That answer is just… everything wrong with them in a few words. The passive-aggressiveness, the guilt-tripping, the condescendence. “Yes, I think I do.”

They stare at each other, silent.

**_Renters_ **

It’s been forever since the last time he tried to rent a place. When they moved, they bought a condo with the help of the team’s contacts. When they were together, they could afford luxury. Now that he’s alone and single, it’s another story. The visits at strange hours, the renters unhappy at being disturbed, the terrible apartments the owner assures you are wonderful and cheap but you can see the cockroaches skittering away when you enter a room. It’s all a pain, but Tetsuya gets through it.

He ends up with a small apartment close to his job. It’s an old building, but it’s clean and quiet. Tetsuya can paint it however he wants, put his things where he wants, watch what he wants and eat what he wants and go to bed whenever he wants to.

It’s nice.

Lonely, but nice.

**_Another approach_ **

The first time Aomine-kun calls him, a few months after their catastrophic break-up, Tetsuya doesn’t take his call. He doesn’t the second and third time either.

He does the fourth time. He’s settled enough in his new daily life to be comfortable with talking to him again. He likes where he is right now. It’s not perfect, but he’s not going to crawl back home pitifully. Also, it’s been long enough that Aomine-kun probably had time to think back a little on what he did. He could have his pick of lovers, but he still comes back to him. Tetsuya hopes this means something.

“I miss you.” is the first thing Aomine-kun tells him. Tetsuya braces himself. This won’t be easy.

“I do, too.” There were plenty of things he enjoyed in their relationship. There is always some good mixed in with the bad.

“Can we go on a date? You can pick where, I don’t mind, I’ll go.”

He sure sounds like he thought about it a little. He does. But.

“If we go anywhere, it would have to be a museum.”

This is a phone call; he can Aomine-kun sigh over the line.”…We can go to the library after if you want.”

If it was a plot to weaken his defenses, it works. Tetsuya is genuinely impressed by this attempt at making peace.

“You do understand this would be just a date, right? I’m not moving back with you. It wouldn’t even be serious.”

“…I know that. I’m not stupid. We can still try, right?”

“This is probably a stupid idea.”

“It’s not like one date will hurt.”

“…Fine. Next Saturday?”

“Yeah! You won’t regret it, I promise.”

We’ll see.


	7. Random Ficlet

_We need to talk._

This is the message Daiki got from Tetsu. The four words no one in their right mind wants to hear from their significant other.

He’s been racking his brain since then, but he has no idea what he could have done to deserve this. He didn’t think he has fucked up terribly lately. He didn’t forget Tetsu’s birthday, or their anniversary, or anything else. In fact, he thinks they’re doing pretty well? He guesses? It’s always hard to tell with Tetsu, but Daiki’s better at it than most people.

So it’s with some level of trepidation that he shows up at their meeting point at the park near their favorite street court, but the jerk is not even there when he arrived. Okay, so maybe Daiki arrived a bit early because of nerves, but he’s not that early!

Maybe he just missed him. He probably wandered off somewhere, or went running after Nigou.

Daiki sits on the bench and resolves to wait.

He’s trying to soothe himself by looking at his phone when Tetsu finally deigns to show up and sits by his side like he’s not fifteen minutes late, that asshole. “Hey.”

“Hello, Aomine-kun.” And then he starts slurping the milkshake he apparently stopped on his way to get. Obviously, he didn’t care that he was leaving him waiting. Daiki needs a better boyfriend.

He sighs. He doesn’t want a better boyfriend. He’s perfectly fine with Tetsu, thanks. Hopefully, so is he. “So, what was that message about?” He’s not waiting for that to explode in his face later. They can just talk it out now.

Tetsu sets down his milkshake and turns fully toward him, making sure to catch his eyes. Alarm bells start ringing in Daiki’s head. Serious shit is incoming, he just can tell. “Aomine-kun… Aomine-kun, I have something to confess.” Tetsu’s hands are twisting on his lap. This is terrible.

“…What? Spit it out.”

“I… Last night, I…”

“What!?” Daiki can’t handle this shit. He can’t handle the way Tetsu’s face is still completely bland but his hands can’t stay still. Daiki has never seen him acting like this.

Tetsu took a deep breath. “We had work to do for class, so I went to Kagami-kun, and I… spent the night with him.”

…

…

“You… cheated on me?”

Tetsu stays silent.

…Daiki can’t process this. Even in his worst nightmares, he never feared… this. Tetsu realising Daiki isn’t all that and leaving, sure, but cheating on him? No. Just… no.

…Of course Tetsu told him the morning after. He wouldn’t hide something like this from him. That’s not his type. Then again, he never thought this would happen. He didn’t think Tetsu would even do this. He can admit he’s been jealous of Kagami before, but nothing serious.

“I…” Daiki’s the one that’s lost for words. What could he possibly say that could translate how betrayed he feels?

Tetsu startles and reaches for him. “Aomine-kun, you’re crying! Please don’t cry.”

Daiki can’t believe this shit. He’s telling him not to cry, now!? “You should have thought about that before cheating on me!” He might be screaming a little, and maybe the people around him are staring. Daiki has no more fucks to give.

Tetsu gets more worried. “I was lying, I’m sorry, please don’t cry.”

Daiki rubs his eyes violently. “What.”

“…April’s Fool?”

What. the. hell. ”Are you kidding me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would be this affected. I did stay over at Kagami-kun last night, but it wasn’t like that, and then Kise-kun called me this morning and wanted to know where I was and accused me of cheating on you, and it just seemed like a good idea for a prank?”

Daiki is going to kill him. And Kise. But mostly him. “Fuck you.”

Tetsu winces. Good. He deserved it. “I’m sorry.“

“Just… go away for now. I’ll call you later.”

Tetsu opens his mouth, closes it, nod and leaves.

Daiki looks at the abandoned milkshake still resting on the bench. He takes a sip. It’s sweet.

The milkshake ends up on the ground. Daiki’s not really sure how it ended up there, and he couldn’t care less. He gets up and leaves. Fuck April’s Fool day, seriously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, written for April's Fool 2017.


	8. Story Shack, first fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dark fic, spoilery warnings at the end.

_You can’t just stay in here all the time. Look, stay off the grid for a few days. Get out, see the world. Go hiking, you like hiking. Go clear your head._

Daiki ends up listening to Kagami because why bother arguing? So he leaves L.A. and drives all the way to Coachella Valley. They’d planned to go anyway.

The scorching sun isn’t cheering him up at all. It’s just hot. Its reflection on a bucket is blinding him, bringing tears to his eyes.

Tetsu would have liked it here.

Daiki would still have had to support him after an hour. Tetsu just wouldn’t have been able to handle the heat and the long, uneven paths. Daiki would also probably have had to go looking for him at least twice. He would have shielded his eyes from that blinding sun for a second, and Tetsu would have disappeared somewhere. Daiki would have looked everywhere for what would have felt like hours, and finally found him trying to dig out that half unearthed bucket for some obscure Tetsu reason.

Daiki never really got why Tetsu even liked hiking. He didn’t have the stamina for it, and was mostly an indoor type outside of basket.

Maybe he just liked it because Daiki liked it. Seeing Tetsu happy had been enough for Daiki more times than he can count. Not that it will happen again.

Anyway, he arrives to Slot Canyon. It is incredibly impressive. All those layers of rock surrounding you, leaving you but a tiny pathway to walk through carefully. Sometimes the rock is squeezing you on all sides and all you can do is continue on.

Yeah, that feeling is getting really familiar.

He gets through the canyon in one piece.

He climbs on top of the rocks and stares at his surroundings, at the fault, at the crevasses and canyons. He wonders what would happen if he were to fall. His body would crash against the rocks before getting to the bottom, broken. It’s not that high, but it would probably still be enough to create fatal injuries. Plus, in that dry heat, under that scorching sun, he wouldn’t last long anyway.

Daiki climbs down. He’s experienced. Nothing like that will happen to him. It’s just that he finally gets the appeal of staring down from incredible heights. The idea of it being all over seems easier to deal with then going back to his ridiculously empty house and tripping on a book that wasn’t his until a few days ago.

He really needs to clear the place of Tetsu’s things. He has to decide what he’ll send back to Japan for Tetsu’s family, what he keeps, what he gives away.

Honestly, he’d rather burn the house down than take care of it. All of their things, their memories and their hopes and their dreams, the couch Tetsu used to curl on to read until Daiki got him into bed, the empty bedrooms Daiki had hoped would someday be their kids’, all of it should disappear in flames like Tetsu’s body did.

The only thing that gets him through is the idea that life was better on the other side. It has to be. Tetsu deserved better.

It just makes it harder to remember why he shouldn’t join him, that’s all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: major character death
> 
> Word count: 550 words  
> Genre: Drama  
> Character: A heart-broken lover  
> Material: A bucket  
> Sentence to use: "Live was better on the other side."  
> Bonus: The story takes place in a desert.


	9. Story Shack, second fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count: 650 words  
> Genre: magical realism  
> Character: a soulless man  
> Material: expired food  
> Sentence to use: "Thanks for nothing."  
> Bonus: the story takes place in space.

People think teleporters all have very limited range. They think it’s a pretty cool ability to have, just showing up anywhere without thinking about it.

Most of the time, Daiki wishes his abilities were that awesome. Daiki can only teleport over distances calculated in light-years. It’s a pretty rare skillset, so Daiki is one of the world’s most in demand delivery man. His salary is amazing, because being able to deliver something from a galaxy to another is priceless, but he’s still a delivery man. Teleport here, pick up package, teleport there, deliver package, job done. Boring but easy.

Usually boring but easy. Today’s job should be anything but.

It’s not really a job, anyway. In fact, Daiki has spent so, so much time and money on this. He’s not even sure his package will be accepted, but he wants to try.

_________________

The first time he met Tetsu, he was a bit thrown off. Most people tend to be when they’re confronted with someone without a soul. You don’t see anything wrong at a first glance, just someone stoic and collected, but you try to make a joke and they just stare you down like you’re an idiot. Then they explain, and you get it. You either feel pity or disgust. It doesn’t matter since they can’t care.

Tetsu’s a scientist employed by a conglomerate to work in this remote space station by himself. Soulless people are great for that since they don’t feel isolation. They still need to be fed though, and Daiki’s the one that has been delivering his food for years now.

Each time he teleports there, he never know where he’ll be. Soulless people have no presence. They just don’t. You can’t feel anything coming from them, so you can’t feel them. But Daiki finds him anyway and always takes some time to chat him up. Soulless or not, he should talk to people a bit, find out what’s happening outside his lost bubble in deep space, and well, when you talk to someone for years, you start getting attached.

Daiki got Tetsu to talk to him about how he was before, back when he had a soul. He heard about books and friends and basketball (basketball!) and thinks he would have liked to know that version of Tetsu.

_________________

Soulless people are rare. You have to have pissed off a witch really bad for one to have banished your soul from your body. The only way to get rid of the curse is for another witch (or the witch herself, but good luck with that) to lift it, and most want nothing to do with it. It’s a major ceremony, demanding some incredibly rare ingredients and a very powerful spellcaster.

Luckily for Daiki, he’s rich as fuck and can teleport across worlds. It took him forever, a lot of calls to people he didn’t really want to talk to and even more trips to terrible planets to get everything the damned witch needed, but he did it. He holds the fruit of his efforts in his hand: a small vial full of strange liquid the witch assures him will lift the barrier that keeps Tetsu’s soul out of his body.

_________________

“Aomine-kun. You’re here. That’s good. I think my food is expired.”

“Sorry, I don’t have any food today.”

“Thanks for nothing.”

Daiki cringes a little. Better get this over with. “But I do have this. You should drink it.”

Tetsu takes the vial. “What is this?”

“I got it from a witch. It’ll give you back your soul.” Or it should. If it doesn’t, Daiki will hunt that bitch down. Running from a teleporter is a pain, Daiki can tell you.

Tetsu drinks the vial.

That’s anticlimactic.

Well, soulless people don’t worry. Daiki had just thought he’s reject something that would make his job harder.

Nothing flashy happens. Daiki is disappointed and preparing his terrible revenge.

But then Tetsu starts crying softly, and Daiki knows it worked.


	10. Aomine's Birthday 2017

Daiki thinks August 31th is a shitty date for his birthday. It’s just after summer vacation, so you’re back in class. He’s not a kid anymore, so that shouldn’t matter much, except he’s dating a teacher. Who doesn’t live with him. Who doesn’t even live on the same continent as him. All he has right now is a team of idiot teammates that dragged him through a pub crawl and made him take way, way too many shots. That he managed to get home with some sense left is a minor miracle. 

He stumbles back into his home, flubbing with the light switch. It’d be great if the house wasn’t dark when he came home. His place might look grand when it’s sunny outside, but at times like these, it just looks empty and cold. 

Daiki sighs. The joys of a transpacific romance. It’s not like they didn’t know what they were getting into, but it’s still not fun. You’d want to be with the person you love on your birthday, right? No alcohol or hot chick trying to go home with him would replace that. 

Oh well. Time to go to bed. It’s his birthday, he doesn’t have to take a shower or brush his teeth if he doesn’t want to. Who’ll make him? 

He finds his way to his bedroom, not bothering to turn on the light and throwing his clothes on the floor. He’s suddenly too tired to do anything but slide between the cool sheets.

…The sheets are not cool. The sheets are not cool because there’s someone sleeping in his bed, what the fuck!? Daiki throws off the covers, eliciting a wordless protest from the creepy stalker that sneaked into his bed, the hell. If it’s one of the guys, he’ll punch the shit out of him.

Daiki finally finds the switch of his bedside table. “Aomine-kun, my eyes hurt. Turn the light off.”

“…Tetsu?”

Tetsu tries to frown at him, but his half-asleep look only makes him look cute. “Of course. Or is it normal for you to find people sleeping in your bed?”

Daiki laughs. Tetsu’s so cute when he’s acting jealous. “As if, idiot. I just wasn’t expecting you. Don’t you have work?”

Tetsu blinks, showing off those wide, innocent eyes. “I have a cold. I’m terribly weakened. I must stay in bed for a few days. Doctor’s orders. Going to work would have been impossible.”

Daiki doesn’t even have to check to know the doctor in question has to be Midorima. “And during the first week after summer vacation, too. Your poor students must be so confused without you to guide them.”

Tetsu nods. “A terrible loss for all.”

Daiki snorts. “Not for me.”

Tetsu turns toward him and pulls him down. “Happy birthday.” He seals his congratulations with a kiss.

“It’s a much better one already.”

“Wait until you get your gift.”

Daiki tries to look doubtful. “Are you in good enough health to give me something? You have to stay in bed, right?”

“I’m sure we can arrange something.”

Oh yeah. “I’m pretty sure we can.”


	11. Halloween 2017

Tetsuya is almost surprised when he catches the red marks on his neck. He’d completely forgotten that Aomine-kun had stopped by yesterday. He’d already been sleepy by the time he’d shown up, so he’d just let Aomine-kun’s bite drive him to sleep. Still, almost is the key word. Now, it’s rarer for his neck to be intact. Aomine-kun comes to his place whenever he feels like it, and Tetsuya never turns him away because… Well, refusing to feed him seems cruel, especially since it’s not exactly a chore. The bite objectively feels nice. Aomine-kun’s lips on his skin feel… subjectively good, he guesses. He also enjoys having Aomine-kun rely on him for once, instead of trying to handle it all by himself. Who doesn’t like being needed? Honestly, the only part of this whole deal that has him second-guess himself is that it might be a bit masochistic, really. 

But that’s how it is. It could be a lot worse.

___________________

“Tetsu, help!”

Oh dear, what now. He knows it’s not actually important because then Aomine-kun wouldn’t call, he’d try to hide it and deal with it by himself. “Aomine-kun, was is it? Did you forget Momoi-san’s birthday again?”

“It’s in April! Of course not.”

“It’s in May.”

“Same difference! Anyway, of course that’s not why I’m calling. You have to save me from the party! The party, Tetsu, she’s gonna drag me who knows where!”

Tetsuya sighs. “Aomine-kun, take a deep breath and start from the beginning.”

“Satsuki is forcing me to go to this Halloween party. I think it’s just because she wants to put me in a tattered cloak and false teeth. I can’t go hang out with Satsuki’s stupid friends all night long! Save me!”

Aomine-kun should be old enough to handle such a tiny hurdle. “Just tell her you don’t want to go.”

Aomine-kun snorts. “As if she would listen to me.”

“Then, what do you want me to do about it?”

“Tell her! Satsuki always listens to you!”

Seriously? “I am not your bribe to Momoi-san.”

“C’mon! It’ll take a few minutes at most!”

“Aomine-kun, no. Deal with it by yourself.” He’ll have to become an independent adult at some point in his life. Better he starts now with someone easy to handle. 

“…At least come with me.”

What. “Why? It’s not like you’ll be alone. Momoi-san will be with you.”

“Please. She’ll ditch me five minutes after we arrive and I’ll have to stand in a corner all by myself for a couple hours or she’ll be pissed I didn’t wait for her.”

That does look unpleasant. Plus, for Aomine-kun to actually go instead of hiding somewhere is progress. Maybe he deserves this much. It’s not like Tetsuya had other plans for Halloween either way. “Are you really going?”

“It’s not like I have a choice.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“Yes! I’ll text you the time and place. Get a costume!”

Wait, a costume? Oh well. “Okay.”

___________________

It takes a lot of shopping, work and ingenuity, but Tetsuya manages to get his costume just right if the cringing and fascinated stares he gets are an indication (when they notice him, of course).

Aomine-kun is not impressed. “What the hell is _that_.”

 _That_ refers to the prosthetic wound Tetsuya has painstakingly applied to his neck. “I’m your victim.” With the make-up completing the whole look, Tetsuya thinks he did a decent job at looking like a recently dead man with a gouged throat. 

Tetsuya doesn’t think he has ever seen Aomine-kun looks this offended. “I would never tear someone’s throat out! Who do you think I am, a monster!?”

Tetsuya rolls his eyes. “It’s Halloween. It was just a joke. I do not seriously think you would attack someone.” He thought Aomine-kun would appreciate how they look like a set, but apparently he was wrong about that. Better keep that in mind for later.

Anyway, Tetsuya is not spending the whole evening arguing with Aomine-kun over a costume. “You’re the one that wanted me to come. If you’d prefer, I can leave.” 

Aomine-kun reaches for him and grabs his arm to stop him from leaving. “No, stay. Forget it.”

Tetsuya stays, but Aomine-kun is distant and displeased all night and doesn’t even accompany him home after the party. 

___________________

He does show up the night after, which Tetsuya expected. He must be hungry by now. 

Tetsuya flirts with the idea of refusing him until he apologises for inviting him and then ignoring him. 

He doesn’t have to. “Sorry about yesterday. I was an ass.”

At least he’s aware of it.

It’s probably his turn. “I apologise if I offended you. I didn’t think about how it would look to you.”

“You know I would never hurt you, right? You know that?”

“Of course!”

“…And you wouldn’t let anyone else either, right?”

What. “Do I look like the type to let someone hurt me?”

Aomine-kun snorts. “No.”

“Then what is the problem.”

Aomine-kun looks uncomfortable. “It’s stupid.”

So something really is wrong. “It probably isn’t, but I can’t tell unless you share.”

“It’s really dumb.”

Tetsuya waits.

“…Your neck.”

“What about it.”

Tetsuya can’t distinguish a word in the mumbled sentence that follows. “Try that again.”

“I didn’t like that your neck was marked by someone else, okay? It bothered me.”

… “It was make-up.”

“I know.”

“I would be dead.”

“I. know.”

“Who would even maul me? I don’t know any other supernatural beings.”

“I KNOW.”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t let anyone else bite me.”

“…Why not?”

“I need blood to survive. I’m not certain I could feed multiple vampires.”

“Oh, right.”

“...Even if I could, I wouldn’t want anyone else.” Surely that should be obvious to Aomine-kun by now.

“You sure about that?”

“Aomine-kun, I’ve been feeding you for years. I let you waltz in my house whenever you want to and leave you alone with my unconscious body all the time.” Ah, he’s blushing! Good to know he wasn’t the only one thinking about those possibilities. “I went to a party where I knew no one because you asked me to and tolerated your terrible behavior all night instead of leaving you by yourself. I think I proved I was a little bit fond of you already. You’re the one that has something to prove.”

“And how do I prove that something?”

From the glint in Aomine-kun’s eyes, maybe Tetsuya will finally get more than bites on his neck. “I don’t know, try me.”


	12. Story Shack, four short fics

_Word count: 50_  
_Genre: Military_  
_Character: A superhero_  
_Material: A syringe_

Tetsuya thinks of Aomine-kun charming the ladies, fighting by himself, doing what’s right, while poor, sickly Tetsuya stays behind, unfit for combat. So he says, “Yes, I’m sure” to the scientist and doesn’t flinch when the needle enters his flesh. It will definitely be worth it.

_Word count: 150_  
_Genre: Seasonal_  
_Character: A jealous brother_  
_Material: A poster_  
_Sentence: "Shut up."_  
_Bonus: Your character has just met the love of his/her life._

“Stop it.”

“You’re just jealous.”

“You’re just creepy. Where the fuck did you even get that?”

“I had it made! I’m a good photograph! Tetsu-kun said I could!”

The picture is nice enough. Tetsu’s on it, so of course it is. Snowflakes are piling on his hair, making him look even paler than he usually does. But did Satsuki really have to blow it up into a full poster she hangs on her wall, staring at it with besotted eyes at all times? Worse, did she have to be on it too, hanging on his arm like a limpet? The whole thing really is fucking creepy. Daiki needs to warn Tetsu about his stalker. For his safety.

“Oh, did you know we’re going to the shrine together for New Year! I can’t wait!!”

“Shut up.” He’s going to hurt his teeth if he grinds them any harder.

But Satsuki continues to prattle on about “the love of her life”. Daiki is going to kill her.

_Word count: 200_  
_Genre: Fairy Tale_  
_Character: A hot-shot CEO_  
_Material: Headphones_  
_Sentence: "You shouldn't have heard that."_  
_Bonus: The story involves a fight._

Once upon a time, there was a man. The man worked, and worked, and worked. But even he needed to rest sometime. So, after everyone has left, so did he, going down the floor of his building and into the dark street and down the forest path that lead to his home, notes of music silencing the noises of the night.

But even that could not stop the man from hearing the song. The man had heard the song once before. He instantly decided to follow it to a moonlit clearing, where he found a bleeding man lying on the grass. “Tetsu! Are you okay!?”

The man lying on the grass turned toward him. “You should not have heard that. It wasn’t meant for you.” But he was smiling.

The other man wasn’t smiling. “Who cares! Are you dying!?”

“Not anymore.”

“That’s now how dying works!” But the man kneels on the grass beside the wounded man, like he used to all those years ago, before all the man did was work. “Please be okay.”

“The song was supposed to reach someone who could help. You would help me?”

“I’d do anything.”

So the man lying on the grass reached for the other man’s neck, and the other man barely noticed how the wound healed, too preoccupied with his true love’s kiss.

_Word count: 800_  
_Genre: Science Fiction_  
_Character: A dictator_  
_Material: A space ship_  
_Sentence: “Shut up.”_  
_Bonus: Civilization has come to an end._

“There’s nothing more you could have done.”

Letting himself be soothed by the obvious lie seems like such a tempting option, but Tetsuya didn’t end up where he is by being oblivious. He knew there were alternatives. He knew he could have done more. Send more diplomats, maybe. Not that the chances of them being received were very high. Invade earlier, then. No matter how many his armies might have killed, it could never compare to the complete annihilation of a whole planet. The Planet. The cradle of humanity itself, destroyed.

He knows Aomine-kun things he’s a fool. He’d take over the whole universe and never look back, confident in the knowledge that the greater good must prevail no matter what. That’s why he’s in charge of his military forces while Tetsuya plays figurehead. Or dictator, if you ask the populace.

“I just wish they’d believe us. Just once, before it’s too late.”

“They won’t.”

Tetsuya flinches. Aomine-kun’s certainty cuts like a knife.

“Just… have the crew set course for the nearest wormhole back home. There’s nothing left for us here.”

“Tetsu…”

“Just do it. I’m retiring to my quarters.”

Tetsuya leaves what should be the ship’s command centre but really is his and Aomine-kun’s private space.

The weight he feels outside of the room is completely different but not less oppressive. The moment he steps out, all surrounding crew members tense and remain in parade salute until they’re sure he passed. That’s also a fight Aomine-kun and he have often. Aomine-kun worries one of his terrified underlings will finally get the guts to try and assassinate him, and he should at least have a few loyal bodyguards by his side at all time. Tetsuya doesn’t think it is necessary. His people might be scared to death of him, but they wouldn’t be on his ship if they didn’t understand the importance of what he’s trying to accomplish. Then Aomine-kun tells him he should at least keep of their personal allies nearby, like Kagami-kun or Murasakibara-kun, who would die trying to protect him. Tetsuya says that’s why Aomine-kun is here.

The truth is he would prefer to die a thousand times over losing of the few remaining pillars of his sanity. If he could manage to send Aomine-kun away, he’d have done so.

But that, too, is impossible. Aomine-kun had been by his side from the very beginning, when nothing less than a miracle had allowed them both to escape that first attack on their own world, and they had both agree that something had to be done. Not because of revenge, though he still hated their attackers with a hate that often left him awake at night with a burning rage that never quieted. Not because of power. God knows that’s not why he started this. No, they started this mad conquest of the world just to give humanity a chance at survival. Only united could they possibly stand a chance against enemies that don’t even reside in the same dimension at them.

But the human race hasn’t been united since they started spreading between the stars.

“So, we just have to unite them again”, had said Aomine-kun.

“You can do it”, he’s also said, and “You don’t believe in the impossible”, and, most importantly, “No matter how it turns out, I’ll be with you until the very end.”

And he hadn’t broken that promise once since then.

He’s still lost in memories when he arrives to his quarters, images of the countless bloodbaths he’d commandeered in the name of the survival of the species still flashing before his eyes. The knowledge that the resources and most brilliant minds of the thousands of planets under his control have allowed for multiple major breakthroughs doesn’t help. They still, despite it all, have no idea how to defeat their enemy or even how to prove their existence to the disbelieving governments that only see a power-mad despot making a run at controlling the universe.

Tetsuya takes more sleeping pills than he probably should and falls down his bed. He’s had enough of all this for the day. For the rest of his life, really.

“Yeah, right. I saw you. Unhand those now right now. That’s way too much.”

Damn it. “Shut up. I’m an adult. Possibly the most powerful adult in the universe. I can take as many pills as I want.”

“And I’m the caretaker of the most powerful adult of the universe, and I’m saying no.”

Tetsuya knows that if push comes to shove, Aomine-kun will force the pills out of his hand or make him puke. He can recognise a lost cause when he sees it. “Fine.” He puts the pills back.

“Good.” Aomine-kun sits on the side of the bed and starts shedding his clothes. He has his own quarters, but they’re almost always unused.

Before he knows it, Aomine-kun is wrapped around him, more soothing than any medication could ever be. “Sleep. It’s been a long day.”

It’s been a long life, he wants to say, but he’s already too tired to bother.


	13. Prompt List 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same format at typetrigger: 5 parts of around 300 words each based on 5 prompts I picked with a random number generator. Dark, so if you need warnings, go at the end.

**_Who hurt you?_ **

Tetsu’s always been quiet with his relationships. It wasn’t weird or anything. He’d always been a pretty private person. “C’mon, you can tell me. I’m not gonna judge.”

Tetsu smiles at him. Well, it’s a smile from Tetsu. “I don’t think you two would like each other.”

“You can’t know that if we never meet! I just wanna know the guy who’s so great you keep ditching us all for.”

Tetsu sighs. “And I apologised for that.”

“But you keep doing it.”

Tetsu doesn’t answer. Daiki can recognise a lost cause when he sees one. “Oh well. Whatever, go see your prince charming then.” He gives him a light slap on the arm in parting.

Tetsu winces. Daiki freezes. “Sorry!” He frowns. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t hit you that hard.”

Tetsu rubs his arm. “Don’t worry, it’s not you. I just hurt myself against the countertop while falling the other day.”

Daiki snorts. Tetsu and his lacklustre physical abilities. “Did you put ice on it?”

Tetsu stares at him.

How is he a functional adult again. “Show me. Since you’re too useless to take care of yourself, I’ll be the judge of whether we have to drop by the infirmary.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

Daiki ignores him. “Not your call.”

“Aomine-kun, I really don’t need you mothering me.”

Daiki is already tired of this. “And I don’t care what you think.” He grabs Tetsu, ignores his token resistance and pulls his sleeve up.

And he loses a few seconds to tunnel vision. “That’s not a fucking countertop.”

“Aomine-kun, it’s nothing.”

“It is not fucking nothing! Someone grabbed you hard enough to bruise! Who the fuck dared! I’m gonna kick their ass right the hell now.”

Tetsu smiles. “You worry too much. It was just some man on the street who drank too much.”

Daiki looks at him. Tetsu’s never been able to hide from him. Why does he think he can hide his secrets?

**_You’re in danger._ **

Daiki is a detective. He’s Japan’s greatest spy. He’s a fucking mystery-solving machine, okay? He’s on a mission. He has to find out how Tetsu, kind, quiet, loyal Tetsu, managed to get someone pissed at him enough to leave bruises. That’s some bullshit right there. 

So he’s not a stalker, okay? He’s doing this for Tetsu’s well-being. He hasn’t seen him often lately, and Tetsu’s not cooperating, so if he wants to find out more he has to get creative. So he waits for him (with subtlety) after he’s done with college for the day, then takes the same train as him and follows him until… he goes right to his apartment. 

That’s not a lot to go on. 

Daiki stays there for a little more, but nothing moves. 

He goes home. Maybe tomorrow will be more informative.

_____________

It isn’t. Tetsu goes right home each day and never leaves. Not to make errands, not to go out, nothing. Each and every day of the week.

What does he even eat? Wait, is Tetsu eating well? Is he bruising more easily because of a deficiency or some shit?

Time for a new plan. 

_____________

This was a last resort, but things are serious, so Daiki enlists Satsuki to steal Tetsu’s key from him and make a double. (Satsuki is too Tetsu-obsessed to tell him how crazy and illegal his plan is. Daiki counts himself lucky.)

Once he gets his copy, he waits until Tetsu leaves for class, and then waits a little longer until he’s sure he won’t get back. But he doesn’t get a chance to enter just yet, because some guy he’s never seen comes out of Tetsu’s apartment. Who the fuck is that? Tetsu doesn’t have a roommate…

The boyfriend. The fucking boyfriend he can’t meet, who’s keeping Tetsu away from them, who probably hurt him…

Daiki gets in. There’s blood on the kitchen towel. 

“Satsuki. We have a problem. Tetsu’s in trouble.”

**_I hate you._ **

Satsuki wants to call the police. For once in his life, Daiki has to be the voice of reason. They have no proof. The closest to it they have has been obtained illegally, and blood on a kitchen towel could easily be explained by a knife cut while cooking. Hell, Daiki doesn’t even know for sure this guy is responsible. 

That doesn’t mean they’re gonna do nothing. Oh no. It doesn’t happen often, but when Daiki and Satsuki work together, they’re fucking unstoppable. But before they do anything, they have to talk to Tetsu. 

Of fucking course, Tetsu won’t talk to him. He’s been avoiding him since he saw the bruise, he won’t take his calls, doesn’t reply to his texts. Satsuki isn’t faring better, and, upon further inquiries, Kagami and the others haven’t heard much more from him lately. 

All this only serves to solidify their doubts. Tetsu wouldn’t be avoiding them if nothing was wrong. 

Intervention it is. Or more like ambush. Satsuki has Tetsu’s schedule memorised since his first college week, so Daiki arrives half an hour before the end of his class and leans against the wall, just beside the door, until he comes out. Let’s see him run away now. 

Tetsu flinches when he sees him, and, as expected, try to flee. “Aomine-kun. I’m sorry I haven’t had time to see you lately, but I really can’t make time at the moment.”

Yeah, no. “What is your… no I refuse to call that your boyfriend, what is the asshole gonna do to you if you’re late? Worse than I already saw?”

Bingo. The way Tetsu freezes and his face falls says everything.

But Tetsu always recovered quickly. He knows he won’t fool him, it’s too late for that. “This really is none of your business.”

“The hell it isn’t my business! I care about you!”

Heads turn. Daiki gives no fuck. 

Tetsu does. “I don’t. I never did.”

Daiki’s shocked enough to let go.

It’s only after that he wonders if Tetsu meant Daiki or himself.

**_I don’t wanna be alone right now._ **

Daiki didn’t think he would sleep tonight. It’s still not fun. 

He just… doesn’t understand how things have gone so wrong. Tetsu’s not the type, you know? He’s always been… well, not exactly self-sufficient, being a guy who arranged his whole play style around teamwork, but so resourceful and wilful and obstinate. He can take care of himself. He’s a great catch too. How the fuck did he get trapped into this terrible relationship? 

Satsuki cried. She doesn’t understand either. She doesn’t understand how she of all people could have missed this. She made it her life’s work to know everything about everyone, and Tetsu was her focus for so long. 

Daiki couldn’t say anything useful to her. He just held her and blamed himself for being so fucking useless that he couldn’t protect his two most important people from the world. 

So it’s four a.m. and he’s not sleeping. He’s just staring at the ceiling when his phone rings.

Please let it not be Satsuki. It’s too late. There’s nothing he can do for her now. 

He can’t ignore her anyway.

“Aomine-kun.”

Daiki rises right up, ignoring the dizziness. “Tetsu!”

“Aomine-kun, I…”

Daiki bites his lips until he tastes blood to stop himself from pushing him. It might stop him.

“I’m sorry. Aomine-kun, I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault.”

Sobs are breaking his voice. Daiki can’t let the same thing happen to his. “No it’s not! There’s no way it is, and even if it was, I would give no fuck. Don’t apologise to me, just let me help! Please!”

Ragged inhalations on the other side. “Can you… stay on the line for me? Just for a while? I don’t want to be alone right now.”

With him. Daiki heard it. “Of course. For as long as you want to. ” Forever if need be. 

**_I’m on my way._ **

Tetsu hangs up around five and a half. Almost all of the one and a half hour-long call had been silence only broken by muffled sobs.

Every single second had destroyed another parcel of Daiki’s heart. 

This has been the first and only time this happens. He doesn’t fucking care that it’s too early for anyone to be up. He calls Satsuki until she answers. Then he calls Kagami. Then Akashi, for extra precaution. 

So that’s how he ends up hanging out with Kagami, Satsuki and Akashi (and a whole bunch of Akashi’s people hidden everywhere around them, which is why he called him in the first place) at six and a half in front of Tetsu’s apartment building. Let’s see how that asshole reacts when giants like him and Kagami take Tetsu away. If only he could have gotten Murasakibara too, that would have been even better. Anway, Daiki will stash Tetsu in his apartment, or if that doesn’t work Kagami or Akashi can take him, god knows they have the place to do it, but he’s not staying a single more day with that total dick. Daiki’s already made sure that Akashi would take care of ending Tetsu’s lease, and his people would take his things back after they dealt with Tetsu himself, so Tetsu won’t have a reason to come back here, ever. 

Would that this take care of the whole problem. 

Daiki’s not that stupid. He knows that’s just the beginning.

Everything has to start somewhere. For Daiki, it means ringing the doorbell until someone opens. He’s mentally preparing himself not to punch the guy if he’s the one to answer. Both Satsuki and Akashi impressed on him how important it was for them not to commit assault. Let the guy have no motive to complain against them. They’ll take of him later. The right way.

Tetsu’s the one opening the door. He has a black eye. 

Daiki might break his teeth’s enamel. “You’re coming with us. Now.”

Tetsu looks… so lost. Like a kid that doesn’t understand anything that’s happening. A grown man has no business looking like that, ever. 

But he nods and takes Daiki’s hand. 

Daiki’s never letting go again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abusive relationship with an oc


	14. Prompt List 2

**Wanna bet?**

“You’re not being serious.”

“Yes.”

“Couldn’t he ask someone else?”

“Nope. We’re a small family.”

“How about his wife’s?”

“They live in Hokkaido.”

“Can’t your mother go?”

“And leave my dad to fend for himself? He’s gonna die of malnutrition.”

“Fine, but I still don’t understand why I have to go with you.”

“You’re free, no? Are you gonna leave me alone in a strange city for two weeks?”

“I had things planned!”

“Like reading? Please.”

“Just because your hobbies aren’t as sophisticated doesn’t mean mine are boring.”

“You can read over there too. It’s a nice house! They’ve got air conditioning.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah! The house is new. They purged and got something nice. It’s way better than sitting in front of a fan all day.”

Damn him. The heat has been overwhelming lately. Plus, if he’s honest with himself, two weeks with Aomine-kun and absolutely no one else they know does seem very tempting. 

It’s just that “I still don’t understand why you have to drive over there. It’ll take all day! Taking the train to Fukuoka would take half the time. Just because you got your license doesn’t make taking your car the better option all the time.”

“C’mon, it’d be fun! Being alone for twelve hours is better than sharing the space with strangers for six. A road trip, just for the two of us.”

“Aomine-kun, no. I’m fine with going with you, but I’m putting my foot down at the car. Train or nothing.”

“Let’s bet on it.”

“…What?”

“Let’s bet. If I win, I drive. If you do, we take the train.” 

Well. It would be easier than trying to argue with him. “Fine. What are we betting on.”

Tetsuya does not like the grin that shows up on Aomine-kun’s face. “How about some basket? You just have to make one basket against me. Just one and I’ll agree you won. How about that?”

That’s a terrible… But maybe… If it’s only once… “Okay.”

They take the car. 

**I wish I could hate you.**

Tetsuya shows up at Aomine-kun’s place at 6 o’clock in the morning, cursing his bravado. How was he stupid enough to even think he stood a chance against Aomine-kun when he had something to gain? 

Oh well, he only has himself to blame. 

“Tetsu, good morning! Is that all your stuff? Give it here, I’ll put it in the trunk.”

Trust Aomine-kun to be cheery and awake the one time Tetsuya himself is cursing the sun blinding him. “Couldn’t you have taken Momoi-san and let me sleep?” She wouldn’t have let herself be goaded like he did.

“Oh come on, you lost fair and square. Let it go.”

Tetsuya isn’t going to answer until they get to his uncle’s house. Aomine-kun doesn’t deserve him.

“You know she’s not the one I wanted to spend those two weeks housesitting with.”

...

“I promise I’ll make it worth it. I’ll take you to the museums, the parks, the shrines, whatever you want. It’s too bad we just missed the festival. We’ll just do libraries if you prefer. You can pick the music in the car. I swear I won’t complain. Or maybe you can just sleep. You look like you need it.”

Tetsuya sighs internally. He really needs to work on staying angry at Aomine-kun. “That would be boring for you, no? I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep too. Are you fully packed? Did you say goodbye to your family? Do you have a ball?”

“I’m all set to go. All I’m missing is you in the passenger seat.”

“I think I can do something about that.”

**We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?**

****

****

The sun is blinding. Tetsuya thanks Aomine-kun again for the fact that their car has air conditioning to fight against the heat wave Japan is currently fighting. 

In fact, Tetsuya is impressed. It looks like Aomine-kun really did plan his trip. Tetsuya suspects they’re using the scenic routes instead of the highways. He lets out the occasional informative sound bite that there’s no way he just knows. He has to have researched this. He knows where the rest stops are, prepared bentos, has water bottles at the ready. 

Okay, he also suspects that Momoi-san had a hand in it all, but he’s still impressed that he bothered to follow her suggestions. 

The sky starts darkening toward the beginning of the afternoon. Tetsuya frowns. They’re still a few hours away from Fukuoka. He hopes they’ll get there before it starts raining. He’s not fully confident in Aomine-kun’s driving capacities just yet.

Sadly, luck isn’t on his side. In the following minutes, clouds multiply and darken. At this point, Tetsuya just hopes it won’t turn into a storm. 

Sure enough, heavy downpours start hitting the car’s roof. Visibility soon becomes a dream.

Aomine-kun drives to the nearest rest stop to wait until he can see better.

Or at least he thought that was what he was doing, but he’s… trying to open his car door? “Aomine-kun, what are you doing! You’ll get water in the car!”

“I’m hot. The water is cool. You should come with me, it’ll be fun.”

No, going back into the car while dripping water won’t be fun. “I’m staying in, and so should you. It’s not that hot. Being wet until we arrive won’t be enjoyable.”

“You brought clothes, didn’t you? We’ll change.”

“That doesn’t make it less stupid.”

But Aomine-kun has stopped listening to him and is now outside, under the pouring rain. Tetsuya spends a second wondering if it’s worth it to try and lock his door before he tries to pull him out, and decides not to bother.

The rain outside is so heavy, you can’t see more than a few metres away. Lucky for them both. No one will spy on them kissing.

**You heard me. Take. It. Off.**

So kissing under the rain is nice and all, very romantic, but it doesn’t solve the problem of them potentially dripping on the car seats. They’re both drenched to their underwear by now. With still a few hours of drive in front of them, Tetsuya has to do something before things get very uncomfortable. 

Luckily, the car has a backseat. Tetsu gets their bags and ruffles through them until he gets them a complete set of dry clothes. Getting those back on the backseat without wetting them is a struggle, but he manages. 

Now, to get Aomine-kun in them.

Aomine-kun is still frolicking under the rain. It’s nice that he’s having fun, but they need to get going or they’ll arrive too late to set things up a little before bed. “Aomine-kun, get in the car. We have to go.”

“Spoilsport.” He sighs, but he lets Tetsuya pulls him on the backseat.

“Take off your clothes. 

Sure enough, Aomine-kun tries to push him down the backseat. 

As if they didn’t know each other better than this by now. Tetsuya flicks him. “Hey!”

“You know that wasn’t what I meant. We have to change now or we’ll both spend the rest of the trip cursing clinging wet fabric.”

“But think of the memories! Sex at a rest stop!”

“Followed by traumatising a poor family on a trip? No thank you. Look, take your clothes off, change, get back into the driver seat, and we’ll see what happens after we arrive.” That should be enough motivation. 

“Fiiiiiiine. But at least let me look.”

Oh Aomine-kun. Never change. “As long as you don’t touch.”

**I swear it was an accident.**

There’s nothing quite like seeing the sign indicating your destination when you’re on a long trip. It’s not that Tetsuya doesn’t enjoy Aomine-kun’s company, it’s just that spending the whole day in a car is just not his idea of fun. 

The house looks nice. It’s gigantic by Tokyo standards. Tetsuya understands why Aomine-kun’s uncle wouldn’t want to leave unsupervised for two weeks. 

They haven’t eaten dinner yet in favour of arriving earlier, so now he’s hungry. He just wants to get their stuff inside and move on. 

“Let me take this. It’s too heavy for you.”

Tetsuya frowns. He’s not a damsel. “I can handle my own luggage, thank you.”

“I’m not belittling you! I’m just trying to help! Here, give me that.”

“I don’t need you to.”

As usual, Aomine-kun does not take no for an answer. Tetsuya tries to keep his luggage away. The house is literally a few metres away. He can carry it that far.

Aomine-kun lunges for it. Tetsuya dodges. Aomine-kun gets him instead. Tetsuya loses balance. He tries not to fall by grabbing the luggage. Both the luggage and he fall. In a puddle, the rain having stopped only half an hour ago.

So Tetsuya is exactly where he was three hours ago: drenched and very unamused. 

“Okay you okay!? Does it hurt anywhere? Shit, I don’t know where his medicine cabinet is.”

“I’m fine.” He knows he sounds angry. He doesn’t care. He is.

“...Were all your dry clothes there.”

“…Yes. Yes they were.”

“…Let’s go find the washing machine.” 

Aomine-kun opens his mouth again, and Tetsuya can see the terrible idea coming to him before it passes his lips. “This time I can undress you. Your clothes won’t be ready for a while anyway, why not make the wait fun?”

Tetsuya’s eyes narrow. “Were you aiming for this?”

“I sweat I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it.”

Tetsuya is soaked, hungry and tired, but they’re on what, let’s be honest, is a couple’s vacation. Maybe a little bit of fun would help. “Just don’t let anything wet lying on the floor of your uncle’s nice house or I’ll make your repair any damage I find.”

“I can do that.”


End file.
